“The greatest show from Earth”, is Hernan Contreras’ description of star gazing. Contreras is a member of the Johnson Space Center Astronomical Society (JSCAS), an organization of amateur astronomers. Their fascination of viewing the night skies and its glorious sights has been shared with the public at star parties held each October and March at Fort McKavett State Historic Site in Menard county for the past 12 years.

The fort, owned by the Texas Historic Commission, is well worth spending the whole day. Admission fees are nominal and you can explore the fort, its visitors’ center and displays, learning how cavalry regiments and their families lived. It’s a photographer’s dream, so don’t forget your camera as you walk the fort’s beautiful grounds and gaze at the San Saba river valley vistas. For more information, see www.visitfortmckavett.com and the Friends of Fort McKavett State Historic Site at www.fortmckavett.org.

There is no admission fee for the fort’s evening star party, so mark your calendar now for the March event and prepare to be wowed by the experience!

I attended the October star party and as I looked around me, I was struck by the anomaly. Here we were, on the grounds of one of the most beautiful historical forts in Texas where restored buildings stand alongside awesome ruins. It can be an emotional experience remembering those who lived here, sacrificing the comforts of more “civilized” homes back East in order to maintain peace and freedom for pioneers as they settled the West.

A soldier, wife or child, who lived in a lonely world on a vast frontier, must have gazed, wondering, at the stars in the night sky. And here we stood on the same ground, gazing at the same stars, still wondering. We have seen men in space and on the moon, but there are many mysteries to be solved. Space may be the last great “frontier” to be explored.

Buddy Garza has been Site Manager of Ft. McKavett for 14 years. Ken Lester, employed by the fort since 2007, is an avid JSCAS member, along with wife, Lisa, a Discovery Science teacher at Junction ISD. Lester’s involvement with the fort and its star parties is leading him to research early American frontier astronomers. “Every frontier expedition had an astronomer,” he told me. “Astronomers could calculate their position according to latitude and longitude” and were instrumental in mapping territories.

Perhaps modern astronomers conducting a star party actually have a connection with the history of how the West was settled.

Ft. McKavett also has a very human, sobering connection to today’s probing of space. NASA astronaut, Capt. David M. Brown, (USN), who was aboard the STS-107 Columbia shuttle, was a JSCAS astronomer and friend, Lester related. “Dave was a Friend of the fort and came to our star parties several times. Several of the club members had dinner with him in Houston and invited Buddy (Garza), who was in town. At that dinner, Dave offered to fly something into space on Columbia. Buddy sent him a Ft. McKavett patch.” Capt. Brown was carrying that patch during the science and research mission when he and six fellow crew members perished in the skies over east Texas during entry on February 1, 2003. There is a plaque in the visitors’ center commemorating the crew of the STS-107 Columbia shuttle mission.

As the light faded, astronomers began uncovering their telescopes. Many members had been at the fort for several days, because the darkness of its remote site is a prime location to study and enjoy their avocation. To “give back” to the fort and enforce their organization’s mission, for years JSCAS members have given presentations at area schools, as well as conducting the star parties.

The public was arriving, on an outing to see and learn more about the heavens. It’s a kid- and dog-friendly place. A couple of Boy Scout troops encamped on the grounds came over. A business group from Austin had traveled specifically to attend this event, bringing associates from Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

Before the sun had set, most scopes were aligned on the planet Jupiter, because even in the light, it is so bright it can be seen. We see it as a bright “star” with our naked eye, but what an amazing sight looking through the eyepiece of a scope! Jupiter and its rings could be seen clearly, along with four moons around it.

Star parties are held on moonless nights and excitement built as the skies darkened. “Almost everyone can see the moon in its phases, even if you live in a city, but to have a dark night in a location such as Ft. McKavett, affords unusual viewing of the skies,” said Lisa Lester, explaining why the event continues to be popular with the public as well as with JSCAS.

Many of the astronomers were from Houston and the surrounding area, where JSCAS is based, but I spoke with some from Dallas, Friendswood, Johnson City, Menard and Junction; others hailed from New Mexico, Colorado and as far away as California.

Ancient civilizations pre-dating the Egyptians, Aztecs and Mayans, have been captivated by the heavens. Christianity cites the creation of the sun, moon and stars to rule over the day and night, telling of Wise Men who followed the star in the east, with many references to the heavenly bodies, the stars and their importance.

Stars are inspirational: “Starry, Starry Night”, Don McLean’s famous song is based on the Van Gogh painting, Starry Night, which is actually one of three, in which his yellow orbs are surrounded by swirling light halos. These works of the 1880s are still some of the most popular impressionist paintings of all time.

About 1609, Galileo Galilei, a mathematics professor in Padua, Italy, moved to Florence, a great center of learning and enlightenment, to work for his new patrons, the Medicis. Of all his inventions, the telescope was perhaps most famous. Lenses had been made in Italy since the 13th century, when craftsmen, not scientists, discovered the secret to grinding convex and concave glass for eyeglasses. There were already refracting scopes in Europe that magnified three times, but Galileo’s telescope magnified 20 times and he turned it toward the heavens. He espoused the Copernican, or heliocentric, system, which we acknowledge today - the Earth and other planets revolving around the sun. But even with his great discoveries, inventions and published works, Galileo’s opinions were “politically and religiously incorrect” and he was found guilty of heresy during the Inquisition. The great Galileo, whose work is still studied by today’s astronomers and scholars, spent the last nine years of his life confined under house arrest for his beliefs regarding our solar system.

In the early 1670s, Isaac Newton published his theory of light, then created a mirrored, reflecting telescope, which was perfected in the mid-18th century.

Tonight, there were about 35 scopes of all types - refractors, reflectors and compound. Equipment ranged from a few hundred dollars to maybe tens of thousands, some homemade, others with computerized technology, some with sophisticated photographic equipment. See Al Kelly’s Astrophotography: www.kellysky.net.

Chris Randall, from Houston, member for 16 years, historian and webmaster for the group, said, “There is some really expensive equipment . . . while some people have department store binoculars. We have done telescope making seminars. A photo of the result of one project can be found on (the JSCAS) website.” Summing it up, Randall said he has found “good friends to enjoy the sky with.”

If you are interested in astronomy, want further information about JSCAS or its members, visit their website at www.jscas.net.

JSCAS has members from all walks of life. Contreras, member since 1992, from Seabrook, works as a flight design engineer for the shuttle program. “I am a mathematician, but most of my work is that of an engineer. I started working for the space program in 1968 during the Apollo era.”

Randall said his interest began when young. “I originally started as a kid with a Sears refractor.” Then during college “we were packing” for a geology field trip and “there was an original Celestron C-8 in the storage room. I convinced my professor to take it with us. I figured out how to set it up the first night and found Saturn. Let’s just say, geology by day, astronomy by night, five days without sleep. I was hooked again.”

Jack Peterson, of Johnson City, joined JSCAS in the mid-70s, attended the fort’s first star party and has missed few of the events. Petersen retired after 29 years with NASA at the Johnson Space Center, the last seven serving as Deputy Chief Financial Officer. “When I started working for NASA, I thought that a possible career goal would be to serve as business manager for the human colonization of Mars. Wow, was that ever optimistic!” he said. “Now I suspect we are more than 100 years away from that. But someday it will happen.”

Petersen gave us a comprehensive talk, but always keeping it on a level we could understand, describing formations, telling us myths, legends and facts about space and answering questions as we looked into his scope and our imaginations were sparked.

Then we moved to other scopes at our own pace. We saw nebulae, our Milky Way and other galaxies, globular clusters M13 and M22, Seven Sisters and more familiar constellations, with something new to learn from each member. Many of them have green laser “light sabers” that seem right out of a Star Wars movie. They shine their laser beam into the sky and it seems to reach right up into space, pointing at the star you’re viewing. The beauty and surrealism of it all leaves you speechless.

Member Randy Brewer, from southern California, had not brought his scope, and told me he was “leaching light”. He explained that was the description of anyone who “steals” the light, or view, from someone else’s scope. That applied to most of us.

I wondered what has kept man so fascinated with the stars and if these members’ outlook on life has been changed or reinforced.

I found that many members had feelings similar to Lester’s. “For me, astronomy is a very philosophical experience. The universe is beyond comprehension in size . . . the fascination is in discovering our own place in the cosmos. I am humbled by the experience. Every time I look up to the stars I get this feeling of awe and beauty,” he said.

Petersen added, “In ancient times, it was the beauty and mystery of the night sky that compelled our interest. Then, humans learned that the night sky predicted seasons and important agricultural and hunting schedules. Today, space holds the distant hope of establishing humans in multiple locations in our celestial neighborhood, thereby reducing the chance of extinction of our species.”

So as we stood on the grounds of t his historic fort, high on a precipice, with the valley below and the stars above, it seemed man has made much progress and now “the sky’s the limit”.

But I wonder, is the sky the limit - or only the beginning?

About Fort McKavett State Historic Site

A Texas Historic Commission Site. Located at 7066 FM 864, Fort McKavett, TX 76841. 325-396-2358.

Open daily, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. (Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year). Adults: $3. Seniors (65+): $2. Children 12 and under: free

Explore the fort, its visitors’ center and displays. See how cavalry regiments and their families lived. Don’t forget your camera as you walk the fort’s beautiful grounds and explore scenic vistas.

Calendar of Events

March 13, 2010: Spring Star Party — Check for information regarding other events offered the day of the star party, during the fort’s regular hours.

March 2-27, 2010: West Texas Heritage Day — Friday is Education Day: area schools may attend at no charge. From the 1850s through modern times, historians and re-enactors portray the daily experiences of military and civilian life. Cavalry, artillery and infantry drills to Indian wars, buffalo soldiers, frontier skills and much more - all come to life at this popular annual event.

Contact Fort McKavett State Historic Site for further information, to confirm dates and for other upcoming events.

www.visitfortmckavett.com.

How to get there: From Menard, TX on Hwy 83, turn west onto U.S. Hwy 290 for 17 miles, then turn south on FM Road 864. It is 6 miles to the fort. From IH-10, approximately 10 miles west of Junction, TX, turn north onto FM Road 1674. The interstate has signage noting this as the exit to Fort McKavett. It is 26 miles on FM 1674 to the intersection of FM Road 864, and the entrance to the fort.

For more history, information and how to become involved with Friends, visit their website: www.fortmckavett.org.